Health Insurers Face ‘Massive Confusion’ As GOP Wavers On Obamacare

While Republicans in Congress are talking about taking their time to change the Affordable Care Act, insurers are already struggling to figure out what to charge for coverage in 2018.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

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Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

While Republicans in Congress are talking about taking their time to change the Affordable Care Act, insurers are already struggling to figure out what to charge for coverage in 2018.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

Premiums for Obamacare plans sold by New Mexico Health Connections could rise as little as 7 percent next year, said Martin Hickey, the insurance company’s CEO. Or they might soar as much as 40 percent, he said.

It all depends on what happens in Washington. Such is the vast uncertainty about how the Trump administration and Republican-controlled Congress are approaching their promises to repeal, repair and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

There is “pretty massive confusion,” said Hickey, whose 45,000-member plan is one of the few nonprofit insurance co-ops created by the ACA to still be in business. “The more uncertainty they create,